“Ordinary people are working hard, budgeting, and making difficult decisions about whether to heat their houses or feed their children, and they are still struggling.

“It’s hard to criticise the poor as wasteful when the richest are spending more on their pets than poor people spend on clothing their families.

“Such deep inequality is a national scandal in a modern, wealthy country like ours. The Government needs to back up its fine words with action, starting by allowing hard-pressed families on Universal Credit to keep more of the money they earn.

The latest ONS stats showed that in the previous year, UK households spent more than £45 a week on restaurants and hotels for the first time in 5 years.

They also showed that average weekly spending on alcohol, tobacco and narcotics had fallen below £12.00 for the first time.

In total, average weekly household expenditure did not change when compared with a year ago, staying level at £528.90.